Today we experienced our first of eighteen locks that we will travel through this week as we went from The Neva River and Lake Ladoga to the Svir River. This was a fairly quick process as it only took around half an hour to get through. Our Captain and crew had excellent communication for this process as the width of our ship is 54.8 feet and the lock is 59 feet. Sort of like putting your car in a garage only you have unpredictable water to contend with. In this ...

Short bus ride in the rain to the Hermitage Museum where we encountered everyone else in the city. We were supposed to enter at 10:30, but due to a breakdown at the turnstiles, we didn't enter until after 11:30. By then it was wall to wall people pushing and shoving with everyone wanting to get in at the same time. The orderly queues I read about didn't happen today. So after this frantic set back, our group of 40 with our receiver headsets in place (so we coul...

Up early today as we pack to leave for our cruise. We had to have our suitcases packed and tagged outside of our room by 7AM. An early breakfast at the hotel, back to our room to get caught up with last minute Internet and we will leave at 8:45 for the Peterhof Palace. After an hour long bus ride we will start our tour of a palace known as the Russian Versailles. After the tour we will head to the boat with the only activity tonight being dinner. Construction of...

Today is our last day in St. Petersburg which means an early start as we have to have our suitcases out in the hall by 7am, no worries because we were at breakfast by 6:30 am. Breakfast as usual were the numerous selections at the hotel buffet. With 4 juices, 12 breads, 10 fruits, 5 yogurts, 6 cheeses, 6 cold meats, 3 hot meats, eggs 5 ways, mushrooms, tomatoes, baked beans, potatoes, herring, salmon, pancakes, olives, 4 types of peppers, cold cereal, oatmeal, an...

Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood - is a Moscow-styled church with a richly colored onion domes. It was built on the spot where Tsar Nicholas Alexander II was murdered in 1881. It is also known as the mosaic church because the interior is covered with magnificent mosaics, each wall with a particular biblical theme. After driving by it in the morning, we then took a 1/2 hour walk from our hotel in order to take some photos (although our guide said it would...